Day 16
Woke up today with a brutal sore throat. I should have expected it, as the night before my ears were cracking/popping. R had a touch of a cold in Hampi, and M is just starting. I always think I'm more robust than I actually am. Anyways, I slept through breakfast (intentionally) as I wanted to feel good enough to make it through a very important day - today we were meeting Manju!We made arrangements for her to arrive after lunch, and we met her at NCBS Reception. She was with her daughter Girija. It was so good to see her! We walked to our guesthouse to have a visit.
Gagan made us some tea, (I wanted it to be US to serve tea to HER, and not the other way around), and Manju, very generously, brought out some jalebi and rasgulla from Kanti Sweets and some palak paratha that she made just for us. She even made sure it was not spicy. She was so happy to see us all, especially the kids.
Girija graduated with her Bachelor of Business Management last year and has been working for IBM as a financial analyst ever since, earning Rs.15,000/month (for reference, we were paying Manju Rs.4000 at the end). She is now 21 years old. Her English is very good and she expressed much gratitude to us. She is such a lovely young woman. Someone else must think so too, as Girija's marriage is fixed for November 1st. He's a business graduate from Hyderabad and she will move there after the wedding. She feels she will have enough work experience to find a good job there, and is not planning to have children for some time.
Manju's son Ashok did not go further with his studies, and is working with his father in construction. They borrowed Rs.1.5 lak from Manju's recent employer (a post-doc at NCBS) to get the materials to begin their own business. They have paid back the loan and are now construction contractors. The family seems to be doing very well. Have I told you how great it was to see them?
Unfortunately, Manju has not been well. I could see she was not as sprightly as she used to be, and appeared to be walking slower than I remember. Girija explained that her mother had been in an Aruvedic hospital for a week for tests about 6 months ago. A year ago, Manju began to experience pain in her back and legs, and these tests indicate it is nerve related. She has not been working for 1 year. She kept telling me "Chana gi do, Madam. Chana gi do," meaning, "Everything is fine, I am fine." She has insisted that she come back to give us dosa for breakfast next weekend. It was so good to see her.
